It's official - Denmark is raising taxes on saturated fat

- and that's from tomorrow on.

The government has decided that we Danes have to pay 13-14 DKK (2-3usd) per kilo of saturated fat; that includes fat in meat, dairy, any animal fats, oils and other cooking ingredients (some are also fair to leave out, like mixed products, margarine etc.). Anything with a fat percentage over 2,3 will have higher prices.

How freaking insane and absolutely STUPID is that?! They claim it's because it's what's makes us fat. Try sugar, I say... and omega-6'es... and generally bad eating habits. *sigh*

And I thought it was stupid when the Canadian gov't brought in the sugar tax. Taxes on a single donut because it was a sugary snack, but if you bought 6 that was considered 'food' and was non-taxable.

That's not a sugar tax, it applies to anything that's considered food for immediate consumption--restaurant meals, pre-made sandwiches or salads, whatever. It has to do with them making a distinction between ready-made food and groceries when it comes to the GST. It's a weird, arbitrary line (buying 6 doughnuts in bulk counting as groceries, but 5 as a snack), but it's nothing to do with whether or not the food contains sugar.

“If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.” --Audre Lorde

That's not a sugar tax, it applies to anything that's considered food for immediate consumption--restaurant meals, pre-made sandwiches or salads, whatever. It has to do with them making a distinction between ready-made food and groceries when it comes to the GST. It's a weird, arbitrary line (buying 6 doughnuts in bulk counting as groceries, but 5 as a snack), but it's nothing to do with whether or not the food contains sugar.

I stand corrected but I think people were bandying about 'sugar tax, sugar tax!' when this was introduced. It's still stupid.

I stand corrected but I think people were bandying about 'sugar tax, sugar tax!' when this was introduced. It's still stupid.

It is stupid. I personally think that if you're buying food at the grocery store, unless it's something like the sandwich counter at Safeway, it shouldn't be subject to GST. All it does is reward people who buy bulk quantities of things over those who don't. Incidentally, the same thing also applies to things like single-serve yogurts if they are not packaged in multiples--so buy one little container, you'll pay tax, but buy a dozen with a cardboard thing around them, and you're not. Other oddities: single-serve bottles of water count (unless they are packaged together by the manufacturer), but big bottles are tax-free, and salted nuts are taxable, but unsalted ones aren't. It's ridiculously complex.

And the sugar tax thing has a bit of grounding in that snack foods and soft drinks are always considered taxable.

“If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.” --Audre Lorde